This collection of four programmes provides an authentic account of the experiences of Australia's military forces in World War I and II. It features actual footage of the army, navy and airforce in action.

It used to be called "the Great War" because it was thought people had won everlasting peace. Memorials and monuments to it were built all over the world. These days, World War One is seen as the last of the soldiers' wars, in which men were more important than machinery. Those who fought believed it was the war to end all wars. Sixty-one thousand Australians were to die on European soil - only for them was the peace everlasting.

This is an authentic record of Australian soldiers' participation in the Second World War, drawing on actual newsreel footage depicting the hardship these men experienced in Europe, the Middle East and, closer to home, in Singapore, New Guinea and Borneo.

The Royal Australian Air Force served with distinction in a number of theatres during the Second World War, in areas as wildly separated as New Guinea and Germany. The glory they earned was more than balanced by the toll on machine and men wrought by the pressure of conflict. This film is designed to show, both in actual footage and recreation, the history of the RAAF during the war, against a background of human effort and sacrifice.

Australian seamen were active in many of the most difficult theatres of the Second World War. Duties included minesweeping, mine laying and escorting convoys on the dangerous Atlantic run, sometimes even to Russia. In the Pacific they supported the American invasion of the islands and participated in the grinding effort of defending bases in New Guinea and northern Australia. Footage of them in action in the Pacific and the Atlantic is included in this video.